Photo: Juvenal Balán

Maintenance work is being carried out at the historic Birán site ahead of August 13, when the 99th anniversary of Fidel Castro's birth will be celebrated.

Cuba marched against the US blockade and sanctions. Photo: Enrique González (Enro)/ Cubadebate.In the stillness of a Havana night, the only sounds are the hum of a generator at a distant hospital and the murmur of a family gathered by candlelight. For them, “US national security” is not an abstract concept debated on American cable news; it is the tangible reality of a 20-hour blackout, the smell of spoiled food, and the fear for a child’s refrigerated medicine. This is the face of a policy that the United States government characterizes as a response to an “extraordinary threat.” The real threat, however, is not military. It is the 67-year-old defiance of a small island nation that has refused to relinquish its sovereignty.

Cuba remained to report on Friday a very high number of COVID-19 infections as part of the worst segment of the health crisis prompted by the pandemic. On Friday, 28 fatalities associated with the disease were announced, and the alarming number of 6 422 new cases.